Joshua Sroge has become Binance.US’s interim CEO, replacing Brian Brooks, who resigned unexpectedly earlier this month from the U.S. arm of crypto exchange Binance.
- Sroge joined Binance.US in January 2020, serving as its CFO.
- Brooks’ exit after just four months and the similarly unexpected departure of the director of Binance Brazil have been among a series of challenges for the world's largest crypto exchange by trading volume. Binance has faced intensifying regulatory scrutiny in several countries, including the U.K. and Japan.
- According to a report in the New York Times on Thursday, Brooks resigned after a venture capital investment he was trying to complete to diversify the company’s ownership fell through.
- The potential investors were concerned that U.S. authorities were investigating Binance over money laundering and tax issues, and also CEO Changpeng Zhao’s concentrated ownership of Binance.US. Zhao owns roughly 90% of Binance.US, according to the Times report.
- According to The Times, Sroge said in a statement that the company still intended to grow, including raising outside capital and “expanding its board of directors with experienced leaders, among other initiatives consistent with those pursued by fast-growing private companies.”
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